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FIRST IN PI ... TOYOTA REPOSITIONING ITSELF AS TECH COMPANY: Automaker Toyota is adding veteran tech lobbyist Ralph Hellmann of Lugar Hellmann Group to its hired gun ranks as the company continues to reposition itself in Washington as a technology and innovation company. The move follows several steps the recent Washington office head Stephen Ciccone (formerly of Kodak) has made — including hiring Hilary Cain nearly a year ago as its national manager of technology and innovation policy. Toyota has also recently joined two tech groups — Consumer Electronics Association and the Information Technology Innovation Foundation.

Toyota spent $851,000 on lobbying in the first quarter with firms like The FIRST Group, National Environmental Strategies and BGR Group on retainer. Heather Podesta + Partners also registered in April to work for the company.

ECUADOR’S TOURISM CAMPAIGN ENSNARED IN SNOWDEN DRAMA: The drama over where NSA leaker Edward Snowden will spend his days in exile may have had broader implications for the government of Ecuador. The country's tourism ministry recently inked an expensive tourism promotion deal with the U.S. firm Development Counsellors International. According to a contract filed with the Department of Justice, negotiations over the tourism promotion campaign have been in the works since late 2012. The 15-month contract with Development Counsellors is worth more than $300,000 and seeks to promote the country as a major tourism destination for U.S. and Canadian travelers.

Ecuador is currently sheltering Wikileaks founder Julian Assange in an embassy. Assange is wanted on sexual misconduct charges and is possibly being investigated by the U.S. government. Snowden has applied for asylum there, but it has not yet been granted. Reports today suggest that he was headed for Venezuela. But any move by Ecuador that would have granted Snowden asylum would likely have drawn the wrath of the Obama administration, which has not been shy about denouncing governments for sheltering Snowden. Ecuador was unlikely to face anything beyond bad press stateside — but bad press could have stymied the country’s efforts to attract tourism and American visitors.

GOOD TUESDAY AFTERNOON, where it's been 51 years since Bob Dylan recorded "Blowin’ in the Wind." The song was recorded July 9, 1962, at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City. More than a year later, it was released as a single, with "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" as the B-side. Send all your lobbying news, gossip, tips and scoops to btau@politico.com and apalmer@politico.com. And follow us on Twitter at @ByronTau and @apalmerdc.

SEARCH ON FOR DNC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Now that Patrick Gaspard has been officially nominated by President Barack Obama to be ambassador to South Africa, the scramble is on to fill his position as executive director at the Democratic National Committee, PI has learned. A PI tipster says Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is down to the top handful of candidates and is expected make her selection in the coming days. Her selection comes as members of the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have complained about what they see as insufficient efforts by the administration to bring on more minority political appointees. Stay tuned.

ACTIVISION BLIZZARD REJOINS ESA: Software company Activision Blizzard is rejoining the Entertainment Software Association. Its addition — along with Tencent — brings the trade association's membership to 37 companies. The company — best-known for games like Call of Duty, Diablo, Warcraft and Starcraft — left the trade association in 2008 for unspecified reasons.

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TAX REFORM COALITION HITS THE HILL: Members of the Financial Executives International's Private Companies for Tax Fairness Coalition will be in D.C. tomorrow to push members of Congress on tax reform. Officials from companies like Chobani Yogurt, Eby-Brown Company and Foth & Van Dyke will meet with Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) and other members of Congress to push their priorities in a tax code rewrite.

PRO-PUERTO RICO STATEHOOD PAC FORMS: A new political action committee Equidad PAC will focus on statehood for Puerto Rico and the passage of H.R. 2000, the Puerto Rico Status Resolution Act, an official tells PI. Treasurer Jose Carrion — who also serves as principal partner and president of the insurance brokerage firm HUB International CLC — said he was motivated to start the PAC with a group of concerned citizens. Carrion says the hybrid PAC — which, like super PACs, are allowed unlimited donations — will be used to educate people on the virtues of statehood. “There’s legislation that we’re trying to get passed in Congress, and we’re just seeing how that goes,” Carrion said. He called the PAC a vehicle of social welfare, encouraging discussion of Puerto Rico’s admission as a state of the union. “The educational component is of critical importance to us because we want to be educating people as to the virtues of statehood,” he said. Carrion adds that he’s a loyal Republican: “I am affiliated with the Republican Party and have participated in the finance areas of the [Mitt] Romney effort and the RGA, so I volunteered to help out in my spare time, as a private citizen with Equidad,” he emailed PI about his past in political activities.

CALL YOUR OFFICE: ASIANA: First in a recurring feature about entities that don't have lobbyists but probably should. After this weekend's deadly crash in San Francisco, Asiana Airlines is likely to face some regulatory scrutiny by either the Federal Aviation Administration or Congress. And as POLITICO's Kathryn Wolfe notes, the FAA could — in theory — yank an airline’s permission to operate in the United States or restrict an entire country's airlines from operating in U.S. airspace. The company shows no lobbying presence in the Senate or Department of Justice lobbying databases. Kumho Asiana Group, the airline's parent company, also has no D.C. representatives, nor does Air Busan — a sister company. Asiana is, however, a member of the International Air Transport Association — a trade organization that represents global air carriers and lobbies in D.C. on transportation policy.

HILLSTAFFER HIRES KASSIDAY: The government affairs firm HillStaffer has hired Joel D. Kassiday as vice president of the firm. Kassiday is a Hill vet who did stints with former Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) and Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.) and ex-Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), among others. He also served as legislative director at Liz Robbins Associates and congressional affairs director at the Republican Jewish Coalition.

CREW COMPLAINS ABOUT BOPP: Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's executive director Melanie Sloan filed a whistleblower complaint today with the IRS, alleging that campaign finance attorney Jim Bopp was using a nonprofit organization to divert funds to his own law firm. The firm also asked the Indiana attorney general, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, the Indiana secretary of state, and the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to investigate. See the complaint here: http://bit.ly/1akQ1wX

EARLY FUNDRAISING BITE: HOUSE MAJORITY PAC RAISES $3M: The Democratic super PAC working to elect House Democrats raised just north of $3 million in the first six months of 2013, the group announced yesterday. In its fundraising report soon to be filed with the FEC, the House Majority PAC will show that it doubled its 2011 fundraising pace as Democratic donors grow increasingly comfortable giving to outside efforts. Byron has more here: http://politi.co/15tGwaa

SLIGHTLY OFF-TOPIC STORY PLUG: Byron has the rundown on Democrats salivating to use Obama’s 30 million-strong email list. More here: http://politi.co/14G1KQQ

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